There will be a number of changes and additions to chocobo digging and gardening in accordance with the introduction of the chocobo raising feature in the next version update.

Chocobo Digging

The following changes and additions will be made to chocobo digging to complement the chocobo raising feature. These changes will not affect players' digging skill. The player's chocobo digging skill will apply to any chocobo they ride or raise.

[Chocobo Abilities] Raising a chocobo in a certain way may result in the acquisition of various abilities. Some of these abilities will enhance the profitability of chocobo digging, such as by increasing the variety of items obtainable via the digging command.

[Buried Items] Up until now, buried items were available in such a limited amount that if several players dug in an area for long enough, they could gather all the items in the area. In the next version update, the following adjustments will be made in order to allow a greater number of players to enjoy chocobo digging: -The number of buried items in each area will increase. -Depending on the chocobo, "fatigue" similar to that incurred during fishing will be imposed upon the player after digging for a certain period of time.

Gardening

New seeds will be added in the next version update to allow players to grow their own chocobo feed. Players will be able to grow feed in the same manner as other plants, and will not need to learn any special techniques or purchase any specific tools.

I'm soo happy that they're letting you call chocobo's from whereever (except dungeons etc.) so now its actually worth it to raise one because at some point it will pay off, and your saving money which is always a good thing with the prices on some servers

There's a whole other section on the Playonline website about raising chocobos. Here it is: The Truth Behind Chocobos

For the people of Vana'diel, chocobos are reliable traveling companions and the most accessible mode of transportation. In recent years, demand for chocobos has exploded in response to the activities of adventurers, but surprisingly little is known about the way chocobos live and are raised.

The Vana'diel Chocobo Society (VCS) takes up the task of educating choco-gals and choco-guys and dispatching them to chocobo stables across Vana'diel. Below, VCS President Hantileon answers some of our questions regarding chocobo raising.

The Start of a New Life

Q: I heard that chocobos can see as soon as they are born. Is this true?

A: By the time chocobo chicks break out of their shells, they are already covered in down and can see clearly. They can even stand on their own two feet and take their first unsteady steps after a single day has passed. When chocobos still ran wild on the Quon continent, they needed to be able to run from carnivorous prey in order to survive.

Even so, chicks are still very weak, and require a warm bed, soft food, and most of all, loving care. This is why the Vana'diel Chocobo Society contacts the chocobo's owner immediately after it hatches and asks the owner to give the new chick a name. The chick's name is always used while it is being cared for in order to create a stronger bond between owner and chocobo.

Some names are fairly common, as they are often passed on from parent to chick. Many owners also tend to reuse the names of chocobos they have cared for in the past.

Caring For Chocobos

Q: Gysahl Greens are the most well-known type of feed preferred by chocobos across Vana'diel, but what else does their diet consist of?

A: Chocobos enjoy other types of greens, in addition to root vegetables such as San d'Orian carrots. The stables often use carrots as feed due to their high nutrition. Meat, such as that of the cupid worm, is also essential for building strong bones and muscles. Other than that, we sometimes gather medicinal grasses in the field for the chocobos. These grasses tend to be very bitter, however, and the chocobos do not enjoy their taste.

The VCS takes great care to provide the chocobos with a balanced diet, particularly during the growth stage of chick to young chocobo. We also discuss with the owner what types of goals they have for their chocobo, and gradually alter their feeding patterns in response.

Q: Besides feeding, what other types of care do you consider important?

A: As I mentioned earlier, the most important element to raising a good chocobo is loving care. Call your chocobo by its name and spend time outside together.

It is also important to scold your chocobo on occasion to keep it from behaving in a spoiled manner.

Also, don't forget that chocobos love to run. We take our chocobos outside and race them against each other on a daily basis. This invigorates them and builds their strength.

Raising a Winner

A: "How does the VCS train good chocobos?"

Q: The VCS provides a variety of experiences for chocobos while they are still young, such as digging for treasure and delivering messages and packages. Creating and enforcing a schedule that allows the chocobo to try out a multitude of tasks builds courage and wits. A courageous chocobo can carry its owner even to dangerous areas, and a quick-witted chocobo can cleverly react to dangerous situations, so these attributes are important to foster.

Also, even if they look the same at first glance, chocobos' bloodlines and abilities differ from each other. Therefore, we take great pains to provide each chocobo with a schedule that fits its unique attributes and brings out its strengths without making unreasonable demands.

Final Comments: We at the Vana'diel Chocobo Society are listening to chocobo owners' opinions, and are currently formulating a plan to introduce a new method of chocobo raising. This plan is designed to create chocobos superior to previous breeds, and we hope that the adventurers look forward to the introduction of the new system as much as we do.

Hopefully this will hamper some of the bot diggers we have on our server. They are really makeing it impossible to find anything good in a few areas.

Lets see....they are on all the time and you will constantly see them go the following routes: Lower Jeuno->Rolanberry->Sauro->Meriphataud->Tahrongi->Bubu->Lower Jeuno (where it all starts over again). One of them will do Rolanberry->Pashow and back.

About the cooldown timer, if they made it as long as 20 hours, I don't think many people would be even using their chocobo and the people who raised them would be upset.. I mean all that "checking on your egg" to get something that's not even that beneficial? Sure, it's a free chocobo ride every 20 hours, but it would probably wind up being like an NPC buddy where you barely even use it.. I know there are people out there who enjoy lvling their npc's, but they last all of like 30 minutes or an hour or something and they are really only beneficial to certain jobs..

If they were to make them a recast of like an hour, then nobody would bother to use the stables anymore.. LoL, like that much money gets taken out by renting chocobos.. I'd say a nice reuse timer would be aroun 5-8 hours, just speculation.. I don't think it would kill the economy that bad at all..

And adding more items to zones while digging? great, more items for the gilsellers to get.. already got one I see everyday just running the same route in rolanberry and batallia, digging and probably making a killing to sell on IGE..

Fatigue isn't a bad idea, but it'll do more harm than good just like fishing got screwed.. Prices on fish went up because of that and because the economy is really screwed up.. Now items exclusive to digging will shoot up in price and cause even more inflation..

all I really want is the opportunity to spend some time and gil on a choco, to make a long term saving on choco fees and, perhaps have...

# a signal pearl type arrangement to whistle up a chocobo in the field.

for hypothetical example

Chocobo Whistle (Neck)

This extremely high pitched whistle is used by Chocobo breeders to summon specific birds. ( calls your chocobo to your side)

charges 30, cooldown 12hrs

I'd pay the same price for these as I would for warp cudgels, maybe more.

I'm not sure about code implementation but I really can't see how it could be difficult.

Some sensible inclusions : You cant summon chocobos to a dungeon area, or in town (much as I'd like to roar around Windhurst on a Choco), nor can you summon one whilst in battle, or aggroed.

I think I'd prefer that these were a crafted item, like warp cudgels and powder boots. A suggested recipe :

Wind Anima x 1 Brass ingot x 1 Cotton thread x 2 Willow Lumber x 1

Same crafting pre-requisites as warp cudgels and Powder boots.

For higher levels, the tedious job of commuting from place to place is a {******* Sword}. I'd be willing to bet that if these existed, you'd have a much easier time requesting help from your friendly neighbourhood 75. The biggest ***** I've heard from most people you request help from, is simple transit time to the location of where you need the help.

Ranger AF 3 is a good example. Full Alliances of 75's up in Xcabard, waiting for a Dynamis slot could have Choco'ed over there (E-7), kicked its *** in seconds and everyone goes away happy.

Correctly balanced, this would be a nice addition. Drawing cash out of the economy, (which SE likes), giving the low lvls a leg up, adding convience for 75's, adding a nice craft item.

A nice win/win/win/win situation.

all these posts like this with their "synth recipe" and "item should be like this and that" just ****** ANNOY ME!

really dont know why ya gotta go call someone an idiot just because they had an idea, sheesh. get off the high horse and use what we like to call "constructive criticism". better than looking like the idiot yourself trying to flame someone with an imagination.

THe point is no one who can make that happen is going to be reading that post. Its hard to post constructive criticism to an unconstructive post. Suggesting recipes is stupid. I really doubt SE is like "we need a new item. let me go browse alla for some suggested recipes". So he is an idiot.

I seriously doubt you'll need to pay for the item to call these. They said it would be like the signal pearl.. so it will likely be rare/ex, with a single reuseable charge. The NPC one is about 20 hours, but I'm not sure what recharge time they'd come up with.. guess we'll have to wait and see. ^^

I can't really see any benefit to these being craftable or why they'd make it so you'd need a new one after so many uses, with it probably being a whistle.

all I really want is the opportunity to spend some time and gil on a choco, to make a long term saving on choco fees and, perhaps have...

a signal pearl type arrangement to whistle up a chocobo in the field.

for hypothetical example

Chocobo Whistle (Neck)

This extremely high pitched whistle is used by Chocobo breeders to summon specific birds. ( calls your chocobo to your side)

charges 30, cooldown 12hrs

I'd pay the same price for these as I would for warp cudgels, maybe more.

I'm not sure about code implementation but I really can't see how it could be difficult.

Some sensible inclusions : You cant summon chocobos to a dungeon area, or in town (much as I'd like to roar around Windhurst on a Choco), nor can you summon one whilst in battle, or aggroed.

I think I'd prefer that these were a crafted item, like warp cudgels and powder boots. A suggested recipe :

Wind Anima x 1 Brass ingot x 1 Cotton thread x 2 Willow Lumber x 1

Same crafting pre-requisites as warp cudgels and Powder boots.

For higher levels, the tedious job of commuting from place to place is a {******* Sword}. I'd be willing to bet that if these existed, you'd have a much easier time requesting help from your friendly neighbourhood 75. The biggest ***** I've heard from most people you request help from, is simple transit time to the location of where you need the help.

Ranger AF 3 is a good example. Full Alliances of 75's up in Xcabard, waiting for a Dynamis slot could have Choco'ed over there (E-7), kicked its *** in seconds and everyone goes away happy.

Correctly balanced, this would be a nice addition. Drawing cash out of the economy, (which SE likes), giving the low lvls a leg up, adding convience for 75's, adding a nice craft item.